Waikato Daily Times 23/7/07

Judge Judy she ain't. _But Hamilton District Court Judge Rosemary Riddell wouldn't mind meeting the feisty star of the populist US court show.

"I've read one of her books which was quite entertaining . . . It'd be nice to meet up with her, actually," Judge Riddell said.

Along with husband Mike, Judge Riddell is heading to Tinseltown.

The Cambridge-based couple are going to Hollywood to support their short film Cake Tin, which will be screened during the Moondance International Film Festival next month.

Judge Riddell, 55, directed the 12-minute movie while her screenwriter husband produced it. "Mike seemed to have this crazy idea that, because I'd directed a play, I could direct a movie," Judge Riddell said.

That play - written by Mr Riddell - was Jerusalem Jerusalem, about the life of Kiwi poet James K Baxter. It was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2003.

Cake Tin is the judge's first foray into film and was shot in Dunedin last winter.

It's the story of a rest home resident (played by actor Louise Petherbridge) who breaks out and goes on an adventure. The project came about after Mr Riddell, 54, helped establish Screen Dunedin, an organisation which aimed to boost film making in the city. The organisation set up a website where people could submit scripts and other group members could read them.

"There was a script that I particularly liked, a short film, which was the Cake Tin one, so I talked to the woman - writer Bronwyn Tainui - and decided that we'd have a go at making that."

Judge Riddell said Cake Tin was "the kind of little film that's designed to leave you with a smile on your face and something quite enjoyable".

The film had its premiere at the Regent Theatre in Dunedin last year.

Mr Riddell said he then looked for film festivals to send it to.

"I thought Moondance looked like it might be the right sort of place but it's such a high profile festival I didn't really have a hell of a lot of hope that we were going to get in," he said.

When he received an email from the festival organisers with a list of finalists and semifinalists, he read the semifinalists and didn't see the film mentioned.
"I went, `oh well, I'll try somewhere else'."

"About 10 minutes later I thought `I must have a look and see who got in the finals' and there we were, in the bloody finals. I just about fell off my chair."

Despite being a finalist - one of about 60 - there was no guarantee the film would be screened at the festival.

"So even then we thought, `oh, that's nice'," Judge Riddell said. "We had to wait for another month and they went through a further selection process and then we just heard this week we've been selected for the screening. When we knew that they were going to screen ours, well, that really warrants a trip to Hollywood."

Judge Riddell had already booked two weeks leave for early September so the opportunity was there for the taking.

"I think this is such a buzz and is such fun and we will go over there intending to have a ball," she said.

The couple moved to Hamilton early last year when Judge Riddell was appointed as a district court judge.

And while her first step into film making has already been a success, Judge Riddell is unlikely to give up her day job. "Whether the chief judge would encourage moonlighting, a bit of film making on the side, I don't know. I'm not sure I can see past this at the moment."

But if Steven Spielberg came calling, "we'd make ourselves available".

"We anticipate anything. I think if you have the attitude that anything's possible then it probably is. We're just going to make the most of it," she said.

"There's one thing for sure, though, this will require a whole new wardrobe."